Pop-rock plus faith paved Brandon Heath's way to fame

The religious recording acts who'll perform today, Feb. 22, at Scope as part of Winter Jam 2009, including tobyMac, Hawk Nelson and Brandon Heath, look and sound as hip and trendy as mainstream pop-rock artists. The message, of course, is different.

As Heath tells it, when large crowds of teens and twenty-somethings flock to concerts such as Winter Jam, his primary responsibility is to be honest.

"I don't want to stand in front of them and for one minute believe I'm better than they are. What they need to see is that

everybody's kind of in the same boat. For those who do not know Jesus, if they come to a show and I was to stand up there and act as though I've got it all together, I don't think that would be a very accurate picture of a Christian's life. We certainly don't have it all together. We have a God that forgives. I want to portray onstage that people are loved by God."

Heath, 30, grew up in Nashville, known as Music City for its vibrant country music culture. It is also home to the Gospel Music Association. But Heath knew nothing of Nashville's music scene until he was in high school.

"My mom was a hairdresser, and my dad was a police officer. When I got to high school I had friends whose parents were in the music business. To me it was, like, 'Man, you can actually make money making music?' "

Heath received his first guitar as a Christmas present at age 16. At the same time, he found his faith and started performing in a men's group at church. A pop and country music producer named Dan Muckala also attended the church and noticed Heath's musical abilities.

"We were meeting at his house, and he said, 'If you ever want to record, let me know.' I checked into Dan to see who he was working with, and he was working with LeAnn Rimes and some other people. So I thought he must be legitimate. It was Dan who developed me as an artist and took me to a couple labels, and we got a deal."

Muckala produced both of Heath's albums: "Don't Get Comfortable" (2006) and "What if We" (2008). The full-length albums were released on Reunion Records. On the strength of his singles "I'm Not Who I Was," "Don't Get Comfortable" and "Give Me Your Eyes," Heath has become a success. He won the 2008 Dove Award - presented by the Gospel Music Association - for new artist of the year and received nominations for songwriter of the year, song of the year ("I'm Not Who I Was") and pop/contemporary recorded song of the year. He was also nominated for two 2009 Grammy Awards - best gospel song ("Give Me Your Eyes") and best pop/contemporary gospel album ("What if We"). Though he didn't win a Grammy, he is pleased with his popularity.

"It was an indication that maybe I was doing something right. It's always a shot in the arm to get an award, but for me I just love making music and feeling like I'm making a mark on the world. Doing something as public as being a recording artist has its challenges, but I love what I'm doing, knowing I'm making a difference in people's lives by sharing my testimony."

Christian Music News Source